Religion / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth
Date Published: June 30, 2026
Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing
answer to anyone?
In today’s platform-driven culture, prophetic voices can gain influence
almost overnight. But when charisma grows faster than character and authority
operates without accountability, the Church becomes vulnerable to confusion,
manipulation, and spiritual harm.
In The Self-Chosen One: When Prophecy Replaces Accountability, pastor Kevin P.
Horath addresses this growing challenge. Writing from the perspective of a
pastor who deeply values the work of the Holy Spirit, Horath does not reject
prophecy. Instead, he calls the Church to restore it to its proper place
within humility, character, and biblical oversight.
In this book you will discover:
authority
accountability and church structure
culture have reshaped spiritual influence
narcissism and unchecked charisma
leaders can protect congregations
without rejecting the Spirit
The Self-Chosen One is a warning and an invitation—helping the Church
recover a healthy balance between Spirit and Scripture, passion and
discernment.
EXCERPT
My encounter with a Self-Chosen One began with a text message. It was not the usual kind that pastors get after Sunday service; there was no prayer request, no call for a visit, no appreciation for the Sunday message, no real question, and no real curiosity about Scripture. This one came to my personal phone number. It was followed by another text and another.
I received multiple challenging texts after several of my sermons. Many messages arrived after hours. There were frequent intrusions into weekends and family time. Boundaries were crossed, but I would often still respond. What was the sender’s goal? Well, it wasn’t to learn; it was to correct. That quickly became obvious to me as I realized these messages were an attempt to either bring me under subjection or to bring me down.
Why do I say that? Well, it’s a strange thing—the moment you realize someone isn’t reaching out for discipleship; instead, they are seeking dominance. I sensed a struggle for control in which I had no desire to engage. More than mere immaturity, people like that aren’t seeking truth; they’re seeking validation, even though they may not even realize it. Very quickly, the conversation stops being about Christ and starts revolving around their revelation, their private interpretation, their anointing, and their feeling that they are the chosen one. You can almost feel the shift from feigned humble inquiry to arrogant holy superiority. I sure did.
And then it came: the announcement that he was a prophet and, along with that declaration, came an ultimatum. Either I yield to his correction, or I would face the wrath of God, which included my destruction and the downfall of the walls of our church.
Was he being literal or figurative? I didn’t know. But with his confirmed checkered past, my protective mode was instantly activated. No, I didn’t believe the things he prophesied were going to happen. Not from God anyway.
But something did happen. I faced his wrath as he insulted, gaslit, and harassed me relentlessly. Every message dripped with spiritual superiority; each text contained attempts at subtle manipulation, and many social media posts gave veiled (and not-so-veiled) physical threats cloaked in “thus saith the Lord.”
No, this wasn’t one-on-one discipleship. It was a battle for authority in the local church. It was his word against God’s Word, his position against mine. At first, this wasn’t even about anointing. It was about appointing. Specifically, it was his self-appointment without any spiritual oversight versus my appointment recognized by the laying on of hands of my spiritual covering.
When one of his friends even suggested laying hands on me in a different, violent way, I felt the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. This wasn’t simply personal ministry anymore. It was a spiritual battle that was beginning to feel more like a battle against flesh and blood. What should I do? What did I do?
We will return to that a little later.
For now, I want to investigate what brought me to this point. Initially, I thought this was just one person who was sincere but misguided. I thought it was an anomaly, a one-off that I just happened to stumble into. But as I researched his social media posts and his shared memes and videos more thoroughly and as soon as I investigated this troubling mindset, I quickly began to see a similar pattern in others. I found myself face-to-face with a troubling subculture of Christianity.
When you are aware of it, you begin to realize that this spirit of the self-appointed, self-anointed, and self-sent prophet is showing up in many places, particularly online through social media.
It thrives on fire but avoids correction. It declares authority but rejects accountability. It’s zealous, emotional, even sometimes eloquent, yet utterly detached from any healthy community.
It’s what I’ve come to call “Vagabond Christianity,” meaning these are believers wandering from truth to truth, church to church, emotion to emotion, never rooted, never accountable, never truly anchored in doctrine or fellowship. They sometimes call themselves the chosen ones. I call them the Self-Chosen Ones. They are prophets with no pastors, warriors with no army, and voices with no body. They preach freedom but live in rebellion. Perhaps anarchy is an even better term. But they don’t see that in themselves. They claim divine revelation, but display no fruit of submission, even sometimes using the words, “I submit to no man,” and their words are laced with violent overtones.
Beyond that, they often misquote, misuse, and misunderstand Scripture. Unfortunately, the Self-Chosen One’s constant misquoting and using Scripture out of context is almost always couched with the claim that their understanding of Scripture comes by way of divine revelation or private interpretation. As one who is chosen, the meaning of Scripture has been allegedly and uniquely disclosed directly to them by God.
The implication is, even if they are engaging in eisegesis or an inappropriate use of Scripture, it is justified because God granted them a new understanding, one that no one else has, despite centuries of biblical discernment passed down to us. No, this is spiritual discernment turned on its head or thrown out with yesterday’s trash. It is a troubling and sobering trend.
In any case, the truth is this. A perfect God does not contradict Himself, nor does He give people permission to distort His Word for their own self-aggrandizement. Yet here’s the tragedy: Many of these people were once desperate for God. Maybe they still are.
About the Author
Kevin P. Horath is the Lead Pastor of Hillside Bethel Ministries in Decatur,
Illinois, where he also oversees Hillside Bethel Christian School. After
nearly thirty years as a healthcare human resources executive, he stepped into
full-time ministry with a passion for helping people apply biblical truth to
everyday life. Kevin writes and teaches about healthy church leadership,
spiritual discernment, and the practical work of building strong Christian
communities. He and his wife, Kathy, live in Decatur and enjoy time together
sailing on Lake Decatur and serving their local church and community. The
Self-Chosen One reflects his heart for protecting the Church while preserving
genuine spiritual vitality.
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